Client Checklist

All placenta clients will receive a copy of this at approximately 36 weeks.

Client Checklist for Hospital Birth

Before the Birth

At your next visit, tell your doctor/midwife that you plan to take your placenta home immediately after the birth. You do not need to tell them why. Ask if they have a placenta release form, review and sign it.

Buy a disposable cooler or set aside one of yours that you don’t mind putting a placenta in. Make sure your last name is on it. Recommended: http://amzn.com/B003LIQJVW (sometimes you can find these for cheap at Dollar Tree or Walmart)

Get TWO gallon size ziploc bags and write your last name on them. Put them inside the cooler.

Put the cooler with the ziploc bags inside and a check for the fee taped to the outside with your hospital bags.

If you are writing a birth plan: make sure the placenta is included. You do not need to say that you are consuming the placenta, just that you will be taking the placenta home immediately after the birth.

Text message me when you go into labor so that I have a heads up: (208-484-2276)

After the Birth

When you arrive at the hospital, tell your nurse that you are planning to take the placenta home immediately after the birth. You do not need to tell them why.

Remind your nurse and care provider during pushing that you are planning to take the placenta home immediately after the birth and that you don't want it to leave the room.

The doctor or midwife will examine the placenta and then put it in some type of container or bag.

Put this container or bag inside your ziploc bag if it fits. Put the whole thing in your cooler. Ask your nurse for a bag of ice to put in the cooler with the placenta. You can use your extra ziploc bags for the ice. Keep the cooler tucked away in your room until I get there.

Text message me that the placenta is ready (or call). No rush, just sometime in the first few hours after birth: (208) 484-2276

If it is before 8pm I will usually pick up the placenta the same day. If it is after 8pm I will pick it up the next day. I don't answer calls or pick up placentas in the middle of the night. I will respond first thing in the morning

Do not, under any circumstances, allow the placenta to leave your hospital room in a nurse’s or doctor’s possession. I cannot encapsulate a placenta that is examined in pathology. If it needs to be tested, ask them to take only a small piece, but leave the rest.

Always call or text my business line: (208) 484-2276

If you don’t get a reply within 2 hours (during daytime hours only), try my emergency backup:{Name and number of back-up provided to signed clients}

Having the Placenta Prepared in Your Home Addendum

Labor & Birth

Early labor project: tidy the kitchen so it’s ready for placenta preparation.

If you give birth in a hospital, keep the cooler refreshed with new ice until you leave.

Hospital & birth center births: bring the placenta home from the birthplace with you.

Text message or call when you are ready to have me come over and begin the preparation process.

I bring all my own equipment and cleaning products. All you need to provide is a clean kitchen, trash can and a placenta!

The first visit: I examine the placenta, prepare it and put it in the dehydrator.

I sanitize your kitchen surfaces before I leave, bleach is my default disinfectant unless you provide something else. Since this is your blood and your kitchen, it’s up to you what level of sanitation you want in your home. I sanitize the reusable kit per my own protocol.

The second visit: after 12-24 hours of dehydrating (depending on method) I return to pulverize and encapsulate the powder.

I sanitize your kitchen again before I leave. I bring my own reusable supplies home with me to be sanitized in a special soaking sink.

Some Other Notes

The new mother must be present in the home the entire time I am working. It’s okay if she is sleeping or resting.

The smell of the steaming and drying placenta is unique. Most would describe it as potent, mineral-ly , metallic or gamey. I’m very accustomed to it but sometimes it’s a surprise to others. So if there is a place to put the dehydrator that has a vent (like a laundry room or a large bathroom) that would minimize the smell.

If you have pets: mammals are very attracted to placenta so please secure your pets while I am working. I will need to put the dehydrator in an enclosed area where they can’t reach it.

I will be as unobtrusive as possible but if anyone wants to observe the process, you are more than welcome to. I’m happy to answer questions and describe the process if you are interested.

Always call or text my business line: (208) 484-2276

If you don’t get a reply within 2 hours (during daytime hours only), try my emergency backup:[ BACK UP NAME & CONTACT INFO PROVIDED TO SIGNED CLIENTS]

Lemon Tree Birth

Welcome to Lemon Tree Birth, providing birth doula services to the Yuma, Arizona area. As a doula, I am committed to supporting families through pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period. I provide families with evidence-based information and support their choices. My goal is to support your family through this miraculous transition.

These women, myself included, feel that placenta encapsulation made a difference for them in their postpartum recovery. Until science can actually dispute that with something more than conjecture, I'm going to keep doing what I do best, which is listen to women, validate their experience, and support their choices.